Netanyahu: The next phase of Gaza ceasefire is disarming Hamas, not reconstruction

By Lazar Berman

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26 January 2026, 5:08 pm

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) speaks at a special session in honor of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (center) at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, January 26, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is “disarming Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”

“The next phase is not reconstruction,” he stresses, speaking at a special Knesset session honoring Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. “The next phase is disarming Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu repeats.

Netanyahu says that it is in Israel’s interest “to advance this phase, and not to delay it.”

“It will happen the easy way, or the hard way,” says Netanyahu. “But it will happen.”